King’s novel, in which a present day schoolteacher uses a time portal to try and prevent the assassination of John Kennedy, may clock in at 31 hours of listening time, but is worth every minute. It’s arguably the best example of the art of storytelling currently available on audio. The author puts everything into the mix—a genuinely likeable, humane hero, the fantasy of time travel, polished nuggets of recent US history, including a well-thought-out examination of known information about the death of the 35th president, patriotism, espionage, crooked gamblers, violence, romance, adventure and genuine friendship. King even manages to better the master, Ray Bradbury, in fashioning the kind of American small town anyone would want to call home.
Topping that off is the narrative skill of actor Wasson. He’s the same gifted talent who performed so admirably on the 2010 audio for James Ellroy’s massive Blood’s a Rover, a work that was praised by King in a long essay in Entertainment Weekly. One assumes that the author was equally satisfied with the excellent job Wasson has done here.
